THE HIDDEN PIECE MOVING FORWARD IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

I stood in my living room as I felt the weight of the past three years of my life crumble while flipping through the photo album.

"Three years down the drain," I muttered with a slight chuckle, tears and snot streaming down my face. It felt like a lifetime, yet the collapse of my relationship happened in the

blink of an eye.

"And here I thought I had finally found happiness, why did I waste so much time?” I whispered, my voice trembling with so much hurt. "It was really just nothing but an illusion."

Tears welled up in my eyes, "How could I have been so blind? I thought I had found something real, a place where I belonged, " I lamented, my voice choked with sorrow.

"I worked my butt off to get where I am today, and none of it was thanks to that bastard. But still, how could he have been so cruel?" I seethed, my voice tinged with raw emotion.

"I don't know what love means’—how could he say that knowing just how much I had sacrificed for him, how much I had to lose to keep him?" I said as I walked up to the fridge, grabbing a chilled can of beer and my favorite tub of cookie dough ice cream.

"I heard my phone ring out at the corner of my room, snatching it up. It was Stacy, Paul's arch-nemesis and my best friend. “I knew that piece of shit would show his true colors soon.” girl, are you ok? I managed a chuckle, 'Yeah, just tired. I'll text you later. 'Wait!' Stacy yelled before I could hang up. 'I'm coming over right now. Get dressed,' and she hung up abruptly. I stared at the phone for a while before finally tossing it to the floor."

It didn’t even take ten minutes until I heard a bang on my door. "Come on, girl, I know you hear me," I could hear Stacy through the door. "I hope you're dressed, that place is gonna be packed we need to hurry," she followed. I got up, dusting the crumbs off my body as I walked to the door with a look of confusion.

“I told you to dress up; why are you still looking like crap, Daph?" Stacy said as she stared me down before finally running into my house. "Ugh, Stacy," I said as I shut the door behind her.

"Come on, we are going out and you know I won't take no for an answer." Stacy exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with determination.  

"It's literally three in the morning, Stacy. What are you talking about? Where would we go?" I asked her as I rolled my eyes. "Don’t worry; it's me," Stacy said as she flipped her hair and dragged me to the room.

Before I could protest any further, Stacy reached into her bag and brought out a sleek black dress that seemed to shimmer in the dim light of the apartment.

"Put this on," Stacy commanded, her eyes alight with excitement. "Come on, babes, you're going to look amazing."

"You have got to be kidding me, Stacy. What is that mosquito net you’re holding?” I asked with a shocked look.

"What do you mean mosquito net? I picked this dress specifically for you, Daph,” she responded as she shoved it in my face. 

Reluctantly, I took the dress from her outstretched hand while I traced the delicate fabric with trepidation. It was completely unlike anything I would normally wear—body-hugging and daring – but i couldn't deny that it held a certain allure.

I finally caved in and slipped into the dress, feeling the fabric cling to my curves in a way that made my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"Wow, Daph, you look incredible!" Stacy exclaimed, her grin widening as she surveyed my body and complete transformation.

"You ready for this, Daph?" Stacy asked, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Do I even have a choice? You already have me in the mosquito net," I said and nodded.

"Sure, let's do this."

"Come on, our Uber is here," she said as she walked me out of my house. Before I knew what was happening, I was in an Uber on my way to ‘Blue Coral,’ one of the biggest and most popular bars in town.

In fifteen minutes, we found ourselves at Blue Coral, and even at three in the morning, the place was buzzing with very loud noises.